Monday, March 26, 2012

Season of the Wind

Sitting here yet in Marsh Harbor at The Marsh Harbor Marina,they make it hard to leave with great rates, entertainment and good old family feeling here. Last night the wind blew over 50 knot gusts for a few hours with lots of lightening and rain,of course Mike slept like a baby until I went on deck and found I couldn`t adjust the lines and we were banging the dock a bit. He woke up briefly and adjusted the lines and no damage. This winter was full of persistant winds of 20-25 knots with cold fronts more frequently than usual bringing strong gusts but no cold weather.
We had strong wind on the nose going to Guana Cay for the Barefoot Man concert but finally a beautiful sail with no motor for the return trip here.The concert was really fun,we went two nights and had a blast. The Jib Room owners brought their boat too and they put on a yummy fish fry at the dock at Orchid Bay. They do so much for the cruisers here.
We haven't done as much this winter but are always busy. I love to cook on board and grab new recipes off the internet to try, no spam and ramen noodle soup here. There is always boat maintainence including chasing rust off the deck from the salt water spray and watching for sun damage. Mike had to sew the dodger in places as well as the sacrificial sunbrella edge on the jib. The Sailrite sewing machine was worth the space it takes up. If bored we dingy or walk into town and sometimes pass the heat of the day playing Mexican Train Dominoes with other cruisers. Mike often shoots the breeze at the bar and since we switched this year to a cash only policy has drank more diet cola than rum, poor boy.
I really miss my family this year so we decided to fly to Florida for my little sister`s wedding next month.We have learned that you can`t count on a good weather window and a deadline means trouble so we will bring the boat back across the Gulf Stream either May or June, we hope to catch some good sailing before then.